In order to begin, I have to go back about a month. In May, I knew I was going to ask Brett to marry me this summer, but wasn't sure exactly when. Mine and Brett's schedules are both crazy, so it was difficult. But even more difficult was finding a time (and a way) to talk to her Dad without her knowing.
My original idea (to secretly fly to Dallas and talk to him and then continue on to Austin where she is) didn't work. I didn't have $550 to spend on a plane ticket and the weekend I needed to go didn't work for her Dad. After some furious attempts to coordinate schedules, it seemed like things were not going to work out. But just when things looked bleak, Bretts Mom informed me that they were going to be in Chicago the week before I was leaving to see Brett. That's all I needed to hear.
After numerous secret conversations, selfless committments by both my parents and her's, I met Brett's Mom and Dad in Chicago (Gurnee Mills) on Friday morning before my flight left for Austin. Along with my Mom, brother, and her parents, we ate lunch at Joe's Grab Shack. I've decided that any man thinking about asking for a father's permission should have a stomach full of shrimp and crab legs. It helps with the nerves.
Lunch offered a chance for my Mom to get to know Brett's parents, and I couldn't stop smiling. When we finished, Mr. Sanders and I spilt away for some Starbucks and the big talk. It was a conversation I had been anticipating in my head for awhile. Without a doubt, it was one of the best, most meaningful conversations of my life. Since you know how this all ends, you also know I got the answer I wanted. We also found time to go to Bass Pro Shop, which is the best way to cap of an amazing conversation.
Brett's parents brought me to the airport for a flight that was supposed to leave @ 5:20. But United Airlines had a personal vendetta against on-time flights that day. I called Brett a few times explaining how much this didn't make sense, since my "flight" from Milwaukee to Chicago went off without a hitch. One guy wrote on his hand the number of times our flight was changed: 10 changes later and his palm was irrecognizable. Three girls from Croatia had been waiting 30 hours for a flight to Austin along wiath another man waiting for 23. This was their last opportunity. I figured there must be something to the Friday the 13th thing after all. For 6.5 hours I kept feeling inside my pocket, ensuring that the round piece of metal adorned with expensive, compressed coal was still there. It was.
I finally arrived in Austin @ 12am on Saturday, exhausted but relieved. I got to Brett's sister and brother-in-law's house and quickly hid the ring and the modified photo album I had created to house the box. (I had put some pictures of us in a photo album along with a note, and then after about six pages, I cut a square hole in the rest of it and hid the ring box inside.) Her sister knew I had talked to her parents, but wasn't sure if I was going to pop the question.
"So, can I see it?!" she asked.
"See what?"
"The ring. You're going to ask her, right?"
(This was one of my finest hours.) "No. Things didn't quite work out how I wanted. The ring didn't come in time, so I'm going to have to ask her later this summer."
"Awww. Really? Dang--I'm so bumbed. We thought for sure you were going to. Are you sure?"
"Jamie, now you're starting to make me feel bad," I responded. "I dont' have the ring."
I would find out later that her and her husband laid in bed discussing how my trip was pointless, and that if I wasn't going to ask I should just go home. (Obviously in a half joking way.)
Satruday during the day was spent shopping. Brett will tell you that she spent the day "dressing" me. Apparantly women have this keen ability to pick out the best looking outfits for their men. Call it the sixth sense. We returned from shopping around 3pm. I told her we needed to eat early becaue we were going to watch the sunset on Austin's Mt. Bonnell, which was to take place @ 8:30. I encouraged her to dress up a little and I took my camera along with my backpack which housed the special photo album. (She later would tell me that the dressing up, camera, and backpack tipped her off that something was up.)
We ate @ Austin's Hula Hut, a restaurant with an island feel, great food, and a waiter that kept hitting on me. I had macadamian-crusted Mahi Mahi--DELICIOUS! We sat outside in a part of the restaurant that jets into the water. Air conditioning was non-existent in the 100+ heat, so the fans blowing Brett's hair all over the place were welcomed. As we left, I couldn't help but notice the t-shirts for sale at the entrance which declared, "Keep Austin Weird." It's apparantly the slogan for the city.
We left the restaurant and started making our way to the mountain, which is more like a glorified hill. I had planned this out to somewhat reflect the setting of the first time I told Brett I loved her: on top of a "mountain" in Little Rock, AR. Litle did I know how much this milestone would reflect that one.
We got to the mountain, but not without a litle hiccup. Relying on Brett's GPS, it took us to a private residence instead of the foot of the hiking trail. The random peacock on the side of the road could have rattled off our license plat number after passing him so many times. But we finally made it and began making our way up the long stairs just before the sunset.
Once at the top, we veered to the left and began taking pictures of downtown, the river, and the bluffs. But we had company, so I continued buying time until they left. When it became obvious they weren't going to, I spoted a trail that led to the bushes and some privacy. I searched it out and called Brett over. She came over and I asked if she wanted to sit down so I could give her the gift I had made her. She did and I pulled out the album.
I gave her the album with specific instructions not to skip ahead. She read the note and began looking at the pictures. It wasn't until she started flipping through that I began to get nervous. She got to the last page and turned it over. There, starring her in the face, was a gray ring box hidden in the album with a little piece of paer that said, "open me." She looked at me with a smirk and I told her to go ahead. She took the box out of the album and openned it. There, in a brilliant yellow was...another note. It said, "stand up."
As she stood up, I reached in my pocket and pulled out the ring. I got on one knee and said, "Brett Sanders, will you make me luckiest man alive? Will you marry me?"
Just like when I told her I loved her, she said three words: "Are you serious?" Not once, but three times she said them. It was the longest minute of my life. She finally answered, "of course," and I slipped the ring on her finger. It was amazing.
We stayed around for awhile and took pictures. Eventually we made our way down and met her sister and brother-in-law at Joe's Crab Shack (again), where we reminisced and made too many phone calls and sent too many text messages to count. All in all, it was the best day of my life. One I will never forget.
Speical thanks to Jamie and Destin for allowing me to crash on their couch, for being so hospitable, and for making much of this possible.
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